A Day Ahead of Everything

Pen Pals: Exam Procrastination

Dear Life Called London,

It’s been a while since I wrote to you, you’ve been so busy with all the big changes in your life; moving flats, saying goodbye to people, welcoming others and general excitement for summer has all taken your full attention. While you thrive among change that we know you cope so well with thanks to that wonderful book “Who Moved My Cheese?”, I continue to live the life we both used to live.

Damn you for leaving.

In version 1.0 of our lives (while you live in 2.0) it is currently winter and it is examination period. Who calls it that anyway other than the university website? Anyway, lo and behold I - for the third time this year - have contracted tonsillitis. Remember when I got it really bad in Barcelona? Well this time it wasn’t as bad, I caught it early (thanks penicillin) and have submitted an application for Special Consideration for my next exam. 

Rather than frantically trying to learn as much as I can before the exam given I’ve been “medically unfit” to study for the past three days, I sit here, writing to you. About nothing really. Mainly because I’ve been asleep the past three days so I have nothing to report on. Funny that.

Other wonderful but hopelessly self-indulgent ”productive procrastinating” activities that I’ve enjoyed when I haven’t been doped up on codeine include; online shopping, extensive cleaning of the house, creating new outfits with my current wardrobe, pretending to buy flights to London and Brazil, surfing blogs and tweeting at famous people.

Sometimes procrastination is the best cure, whether you’re suffering an actual illness or not. The false sense of self-importance can trick you into feeling like you’re doing something worthwhile, which in extreme cases can lead you to actually do the damn thing you were meant to in the first place. Unfortunately this situation has not been so extreme, I have yet to seriously study. I’m not worried, however my lack of worry leads me to believe I am well and truly ready for ‘Life: Version 2.0”. This time next year I would place me, Pinky, with you, the Brain, in the sun somewhere fabulous executing our plan for world domination. 

Until then mi amiga,

Love from A Day Ahead, waiting for the day I’m a day behind. X

The end of the beginning

• Paint - just because and for friends’ gifts
• Clean out my wardrobe and drop it off at the Salvation Army/send it to family in The Philippines (I know this is something you’ll want to hear more on, ugh we really do have a lot of clothes between us!)
• Make your Christmas care package (and for the other girls too)
• Take some nostalgic photos with my old Olympus metal-case 35mm camera
• Scrapbook my memories from BCN (don’t worry, you’ll feature on almost everypage)
• Get a tan before RnV (I know you agree this is a top priority)

The painting came easily, I had a lot of free time late November/early December and a lot to express, I’ll post some photos of the canvases at a later date. Cleaning out my wardrobe was surprisingly easy, however actually distributing the clothes to their new homes was a lengthy process, for no reason other than my procrastination. The Christmas presents for you and the girls are being finished today, I hope you like them!! “From New Zealand, with love.” 

Tanning has been fabulously successful thanks to Cromwell’s amazing summer weather, I am inspired to write a “how to” post about the do’s and don’t’s of outdoor tanning, it really is quite an art form, as you well know. 

The failure of the summer so far has been scrap-booking my exchange adventures. It is such an ordeal, from picking photos, to page layouts, to what order everything should go in, the progress has been frustratingly slow. If only I wasn’t so pedantic (however I know you’d fuss over this the exact same way)! There is also the issue of whether or not to leave a certain someone out of the book… He was rather offended when I mentioned that I might do such a thing. What do you think I should do?! I’m not sure I can take having self-created physical memories, the mental/emotional memories torture me enough as it is! However, he was kind of important and when it comes to certain pages I struggle to leave him out.

All in all LCL, as I reminisce on the year that has been, the words that come to mind when summing it up are all superlatives, and the people I think of are rather wonderful (don’t worry, you make the top 3).

I learnt a lot and well, what more can you ask for? 

Until we reunite with laptops and miles between us (thanks Skype),

A Day Ahead of Everything

To-Do Lists

Dear Life Called London,

So I’m finally on holiday and although I’d love to be working extra hours at the bank, I am LOVING being completely free to do as I please (I mean, I was during the semester, the difference being that this is now GUILT-FREE). 

I have a to-do list for the next few weeks and as a given it includes catching up with my friends and family (here or via Skype), so aside from that this is what is on it:

• Paint - just because and for friends’ gifts
• Clean out my wardrobe and drop it off at the Salvation Army/send it to family in The Philippines (I know this is something you’ll want to hear more on, ugh we really do have a lot of clothes between us!)
• Make your Christmas care package (and for the other girls too)
• Take some nostalgic photos with my old Olympus metal-case 35mm camera
• Scrapbook my memories from BCN (don’t worry, you’ll feature on almost everypage)
• Get a tan before RnV (I know you agree this is a top priority)

Today I’ve already been outside tanning and I’m now taking on the immense task of scrapbooking. More in the next post about this.

I find to-do lists very effective and I know you do to, I tend to start one task and then slowly drift off and end up doing something related but not nearly as important. The feeling of putting pen to paper and swiftly ticking off a task or crossing it out (sometimes rather aggressively) is very satisfying. 

We must not forget about each other though and other wonderful people in our lives, no matter how many tasks you stack up on a list, there is always time for a quick text/Skype/call with an overseas friend (hint hint) or a coffee/lunch/dinner date with those near you. 

Just you wait for this scrap-booking post LCL!

Sending you summer love,

A Day Ahead of Everything

Pen Pals

Dear Life Called London,

Seeing you via Skype was such a joy this morning! What a fabulous first activity for my morning. I just wanted to briefly tell you about my late evening antics. As you know its exam time back here and with everyone constantly head down (in a book) - bum up (not in a weird way) I feel like I am:

1. being forgotten about beacause I don’t study at the library with the cool kids and 
2. don’t get share the fun things in life with everyone (oh the white girl problems we have!).

Eh-ney-way… After dinner my friend and I desperately tried to catch the sunset. We were going to walk up the hill and watch it but I took too long getting to her place (stupid late dinner) so we drove instead  and we just barely caught then end of it. Despite “missing the sunset”, I just loved the randomness, the spur-of-the-momentness, the fun of chilling with my girlfriend doing something a little less routine. We were yelling at the sky, willing the sun to just wait a second! It reminded me of our fun in Barcelona, oh how I miss it.

So long story short, don’t forget to do those fun silly things when the opportunity arises, studying and work may be important when your enveloped by them, however they aren’t where the fondest of memories are forged (well not from what I gather by the way you and my friends whinge about study and work anyway!) 

All my love,

A Day Ahead of Everything